All The Tropes Wiki Project, Part XVIII

[robkelk]

This

My reaction: Flat what.

Short description even for a stub (mostly Example as a Thesis), zero actual examples (and I can't think of any) - how is this even a YKTTW, let alone a trope?

Somebody enlighten me, please, before I propose to delete.

[Bob Schroeck]

Yeah, I called Umbire out on that last night. He claimed he was going to fix it "right away" but I didn't see anything done before I shut down for the evening, and I haven't been back yet this morning. So if there's been no change, feel free to propose deletion.

[robkelk]

New category

I've replaced "Pages Original to All The Tropes" with this category three times already. EDIT: Four times. There might be more - if anybody sees any, don't wait for me - please just correct the page attribution.

[GethN7]

I just wanted to say that, again, I do not want my bureaucrat bit back until December 25th bare minimum, and only if staff concurs I should have it back.

When it finally is restored, I plan to confine my use of it to technical matters only, I learned my lesson on trying to mandate policy without consensus and will not repeat that.

That said, I'm looking into ways we can moderate new users who don't edit with proper attention to grammar and style, and here is a good extension we can have apply to users who need a reminder to examine what they post before they post it:

https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:ForcePreview

[Bob Schroeck]

I like it the idea of using this extension, although it's not going to help much with the kind of semi-literate users who need it most, the kind who don't know (or care) what they're doing is wrong or needs improvement. Still, it can't hurt to have it.

Now if only we had something to ensure new pages had the minimum necessary markup, too...

[Bob Schroeck]

All Hands On Deck!

We are undergoing a spam storm of hitherto unseen proportions. Bogus accounts are being created on the order of one every ten minutes, and Rob and I have had to clear out at least eight spam articles created since midnight last night, and block almost as many users. We need everyone to keep an eye on Recent Changes and nuke any new spam (and its authors) that pops up.

I would also like to propose disabling membership registration outright for at least a day or two.

EDIT: And another in the last fifteen minutes.

I've looked up how to disable registration, but I have no idea how (or even if I can) reach the LocalSettings.php file.

[robkelk]

Two more in the last half-hour.

I just adjusted rights for accounts - one must now be Confirmed, Autoconfirmed, or Administrator to be able to create a new page that isn't a Talk page. EDIT: And I just asked for a Checkuser on all new accounts created in the past two weeks.

[robkelk]

A new account every five minutes? When we usually get one every six hours or so? Even after we turned off the ability for non-Confirmed users to create new pages? yeah, we're in trouble.

I have disabled new account creation.

Stewards have been notified, and sitenotice has been updated.

[robkelk]

I've looked up how to disable registration, but I have no idea how (or even if I can) reach the LocalSettings.php file.

How to disable registration on Miraheze (prerequisite: Bureaucrat rights)
Login to the wiki
Under "Administration" in the left-hand column, select "Manage this wiki's permissions"
Select group * and tap Submit
On the "Assigned Permissions" tab, uncheck "createaccount"
On the Submit tab, give an edit reason (required here) and tap "Submit"

How to enable registration on Miraheze (prerequisite: Bureaucrat rights)
Login to the wiki
Under "Administration" in the left-hand column, select "Manage this wiki's permissions"
Select group * and tap Submit
On the "Unassigned Permissions" tab, check "createaccount"
On the Submit tab, give an edit reason (required here) and tap "Submit"

[robkelk]

Comment on Meta:

@Robkelk: Sure, we can look into those spambots specifically. I'm just going through your AbuseLog and locking the spambots from the past two months that have been flooding your wiki's abuse logs. Regarding the Moderation extension, what I was suggesting is you could basically grant the moderator group to anyone you'd trust with rollbacker or even autopatrolled, really, to assist administrators in reviewing the queue. Something to think about, perhaps? Disabling new account creation on the wiki could be a good temporary measure, yes. Dmehus (talk) 21:34, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

"Moderation" is an extension. Do we want to do this?

[robkelk]

Status update on Meta:

@Robkelk: I've locked 141 user accounts on allthetropeswiki from the abuse logs going back to 27 September 2020 ... Dmehus (talk) 22:37, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

EDIT: Just realized I hadn't provided a link to the discussion, so... a link to the discussion

[Bob Schroeck]

After reading through the docs for Moderation, I am in favor of it. It doesn't seem like it would cause me much more work than I already do, since I review practically every change in Recent Changes every day already.

[GethN7]

After reading through the docs for Moderation, I am in favor of it.  It doesn't seem like it would cause me much more work than I already do, since I review practically every change in Recent Changes every day already.

I am also in favor.

[Bob Schroeck]

Well, Rob... among everything else you disabled, you disabled this:

   

It's okay, nothing that I can't leave be for days or weeks if needed, but just a bit of a surprise.

[robkelk]

You couldn't update your private information, either. Fixed now...

[robkelk]

Okay, I'm stumped.

Where should we mention scènes à faire in So You Want To/See a Template? It's a pretty basic building block in the mechanics of writing, and an important matter regarding copyright - we have to mention it somewhere. But I don't see any place in the template where it's appropriate to mention it.

It seems to me that it should be adjacent to or part of the "Necessary Tropes" section right at the top.

And maybe we should have a page for "scènes à faire" as part of the Mechanics of Writing category.

Agreed for the need to have a separate page for it - at the least, we have to explain the difference between scènes à faire and Stations of the Canon.

Here we go, at least as a starter. As always, feel free to edit mercilessly.

[robkelk]

After reading through the docs for Moderation, I am in favor of it.  It doesn't seem like it would cause me much more work than I already do, since I review practically every change in Recent Changes every day already.

I am also in favor.

Activated. Administrators and Rollbackers now have Moderation rights and skip-moderation rights - anything done by an admin or somebody we trust to roll back changes shows up immediately; everybody else has to wait.

Moderate edits at this page

EDIT: And, because I had to go through a short period on the freebie wiki when rights weren't being inherited, all administrators (Derivative, GethN7, Labster, Looney Toons, QuestionableSanity, Robkelk, and SelfCloak) now specifically have moderator, automoderated user, and rollbacker rights. (All accounts that already had rollbacker already also had administrator.) I've also updated the site notice.

At this point, we can decide who else, if anyone, should also get automoderated user, moderator, or both. I suggest only giving moderator to anyone with automoderated user... but not necessarily the converse.

[robkelk]

Re-activated account creation.

New account created 8 minutes after it became possible to do so.

Another new account created two minutes after that.

Yeah, we're still on the spammers' radar. (I suspect those inbound links that Mamoto says are coming from The Guardian made us visible.) I've accepted Miraheze's offer for the Stewards and the Global Sysops to help out with spam identification and deletion, for 30 days.

[robkelk]

Just moderated the first post-implementation edit - HeneryVII edited The Remnant‎.

IIRC, HeneryVII consistently makes on-topic edits. I propose this user get the "automoderated user" right.

EDIT: More proposals for the "automoderated user" right: Lequinni, Umbire the Phantom‎, Goo Monster

[GethN7]

Just moderated the first post-implementation edit - HeneryVII edited  The Remnant‎.

IIRC, HeneryVII consistently makes on-topic edits. I propose this user get the "automoderated user" right.

EDIT: More proposals for the "automoderated user" right: Lequinni, Umbire the Phantom‎, Goo Monster

In support of all three. I suggest we make it clear being automoderated is a privledge handed out for consistently good edits and being tropers in good standing, it will be removed if one decides to go rogue or starts ignoring guidelines and style format. A new policy page to this effect might be wise.

[robkelk]

Here's some proposed wording for the relevant New Users' Guides:

As a result of the Great Miraheze Spam Flood that affected multiple wikis in December 2020, we have instituted moderation of posts. Your edits and image uploads will ''not'' appear immediately, the way that they would on Wikipedia.

A small number of people are exempt from this anti-spam measure. This is a privilege given to them for consistently good edits and being a Troper in good standing, not a right - it has to be earned, and it can be removed if the Troper decides to go rogue or starts ignoring the [[ATT:Style Guide|Style Guide]] or other wiki policies and guidelines.

Should this go anywhere else as well?

[Bob Schroeck]

IIRC, HeneryVII consistently makes on-topic edits. I propose this user get the "automoderated user" right.

EDIT: More proposals for the "automoderated user" right: Lequinni, Umbire the Phantom‎, Goo Monster

In support of all three.

Likewise.  I think we might have another couple potentials, but I'd need to check the edit history to remind myself who.

I suggest we make it clear being automoderated is a privledge handed out for consistently good edits and being tropers in good standing, it will be removed if one decides to go rogue or starts ignoring guidelines and style format. A new policy page to this effect might be wise.

Yes, this. But it's going to take a demonstrated history -- at least a couple months and/or a hundred+ edits of quality.

[Bob Schroeck]

I am amused. I visited the moderation page for the first time to find the only contents to be five new pages by three different spam accounts.

[robkelk]

IIRC, HeneryVII consistently makes on-topic edits. I propose this user get the "automoderated user" right.

EDIT: More proposals for the "automoderated user" right: Lequinni, Umbire the Phantom‎, Goo Monster

In support of all three.

Likewise.  I think we might have another couple potentials, but I'd need to check the edit history to remind myself who.

Goo Monster, HeneryVII, Lequinni, and Umbire the Phantom‎ are now all automoderated. I left a "congratulations" message on each of their Talk pages. (And Goo Monster has already sent me a Thanks)

I am amused. I visited the moderation page for the first time to find the only contents to be five new pages by three different spam accounts.

I guess I've been lucky - all I've seen so far is actual content.

I'm sure that'll change...

[Bob Schroeck]

Well, nothing else in the last hour, other than a new spam account every three minutes or so.